Homophobic Behavior Examines a Phenomenon for Which

¶ … homophobic behavior examines a phenomenon for which there is very little research. The phenomenon is novel and consequently requires that it be examined in a qualitative manner. Qualitative designs assume that the phenomenon has not been adequately described and it is not possible to develop structured questions. This study will use a focus group for data collection and engage purposive sampling to determine the members of the sample. This would be supported by in-depth interviews with data rich cases that may be identified by the focus group.

The focus group is a method of data collection that involves between 10-12 persons who are knowledgeable on the area of concern. For the purposes of this research I would be identifying 10 males who are either victims or who are associated with victims of homophobic violence. It is important that the men have either personal experience as victims or know victims this aspect give authenticity and validity to the work. The research does not consider females since the consideration is for males. The recruitment process will involve firstly examining police records for persons who have reported such crimes against them. Persons who report such crimes have demonstrated a willingness to take action, and consequently they may be more inclined to talk candidly about their experiences.

The focus group will be conducted at a neutral venue that is yet to be determined. It is important that the venue be a place where the persons visiting cannot be identified as homosexual. This component is important since it ensures a degree of obscurity from public scrutiny, which may be a concern for persons who have previously been victims of these attacks. During the session permission would be sought for the use of tape recorders and for the transcription of the details of the interview. Out of the focus group interviews we would receive copious data in the form of dialogue. Following the focus group two persons would be identified for in-depth interviews.

The next step involves aggregating the videotapes, audio tapes and transcriptions of the interviews. The transcribing process takes a lot of time and it is labor intensive. It is anticipated that the document that will be produced may exceed 75 pages of data. This document will become the source of the data that is to be analyzed. To assist in the analysis of the data summaries will be prepared for the audiotapes. The summaries contain quotations that assist in describing the nature of the phenomenon.

The data analysis approach that will be used is content analysis. Following the review of the transcribed data there will be a process firstly of line by line coding. Subsequently, similar ideas would be linked together as clusters these clusters contain ideas that have similar content. The similarity of the content relates to the frequency at which specific terms and comments repeated in the data. This repetition of the terms is an indication of the strength of the concepts as an explanation of the phenomenon. This will be done by hand using index cards as the repository of the information.